You may have chosen for your ImproveMe journey to include a ‘peer assessment’ from a close friend, family member, teacher, coach or other trusted person who wants to support your personal development. If you did, congratulations! Peer assessment typically leads to an increase in ongoing motivation to continually improve.

It can be common for us to deliver quite a critical perspective of ourselves and our competencies in self assessments, and peer assessments can help balance this view for us. Similarly, many of us have ‘blind spots’ (or unknown opportunities for improvement) that may only become evident through a peer assessment. Therefore you may find that the assessment given by your peer is different to the results of your own self assessment for some assessment questions.

Differing results creates an excellent opportunity for you to sit down and discuss the outcomes with your peer. Depending on the level of variation in your answers, this can be quite a confronting discussion for both you and the peer! However, if it’s approached in a open, honest and positive manner, based around a philosophy of self improvement, it can be an incredibly valuable conversation to have.

Ask why they rated you as they did for the questions highlighted on the comparison email you received, and listen carefully to their answer. You may find they were thinking of different examples than you were when they rated you, in which case you can ask why those examples were the ones that sprung to mind for them.

You might be able to uncover ‘blind spots’ that you have (both positive and negative) and discover important things about your skills and talents that you were not aware of before. You’ll be amazed at what you could learn.

After your discussion with your peer, consider the new perspectives you have been given and how you can use that information as you embark on a path of self improvement. Reflect back on the feedback from time to time, or check in with your peer to see how their opinions may have developed or changed. Personal development is all about continuous revision and improvement, whatever your chosen field!

Congratulations for exhibiting the courage to include the independence of a trusted peer assessor in your journey. Your commitment to personal improvement is well and truly underway.

Don’t forget to collect points in the ImproveMe Development Portal for undertaking peer assessment and discussing any variation in results with your peer.